Marketing the National Hockey League Essay Example

offensive players, two defenders, and a goaltender on the ice at one time. As in many contact sports, the players wear protective padding and helmets. The game is played in three periods of 20 1

The NHL was established as a not-for-profit entity established by the 26 teams to govern the league. The NHL offices were responsible for league operations, broadcasting, television and team services, corporate communications, public relations, and special events. National Hockey League Enterprises (NHLE) was the for-profit marketing arm of the league encompassing licensing, fan development, corporate marketing, publishing and new technology.

Research Associate Marie Bell prepared this case under the supervision of Professor V. Kasturi Rangan as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 5 or write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School.

Minutes each, with one abbreviated overtime if regular-season games end in a tie following the first three periods. There is a 10-15 minute break between periods when the 200-foot ice rink is resurfaced with a Zamboni machine. The pace of the game is extremely fast and there are limited time-outs allowed in the game. (Exhibit 1 outlines a typical hockey rink). Players substitute into the game seamlessly, with one "shift" jumping onto the ice as the other gets off (known as changing on

the fly).

Body contact is part of the sport as players attempt to gain possession of the puck. Stoppages in the action are due to infractions such as improper passing (offside, icing) or penalties (roughing, tripping, hooking, etc.) Due to its speed the game can be difficult for a novice to follow as players seem to miss passes, get knocked over, over-skate the puck, etc. But for those with some knowledge of the game, it can be fast and exciting. As one NHL team general manager remarked, "You have 10 big men moving at 30 mph, chasing a 3-inch diameter puck, and shooting it at 100 mph, so sometimes you lose sight of the puck if you’re new to the game.

But if you are a fan, what a thrill it can be." The 26 teams in the league are organized into an Eastern and Western Conference. Within each of the conferences are two divisions: the Atlantic and the Northeast in the Eastern Conference, and the Central and the Pacific in the Western Conference. The teams play an 82-game regular season from October to April, followed by four rounds of playoffs where teams play a bestof-seven-game series to advance to the next round. The eight teams in each conference with the best regular season records (including division leaders) play three rounds to determine the conference winner. Finally, the two conference champions compete for the Stanley Cup, the trophy awarded for over a century to North America's best hockey team.

History The National Hockey League was formed in 1917, from teams that took the ice that season. During the following two decades teams entered and exited, leaving six survivors

by 1943, (Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs) who went on to be known as "The Original Six." These teams were extremely successful and responsible for much of hockey’s lore and legend. From 1947-1951 the Toronto Maple Leafs won four Stanley Cups in five years. Detroit captured four cups in five years between 1950-1955. Montreal, hockey’s winningest team of all time, reeled off five straight cups from 1956-1960, and another four from 1976-1979.

Similar to other sports, special rivalries developed that flourish even today. For example, the Boston Bruins games against the Montreal Canadiens remain big attractions. Despite receiving applications for new franchises, the NHL remained a six-team league until the late 1960s. In 1967, the NHL doubled from 6 to 12 teams, with all six of the new teams located in the United States. Six more teams entered the league in the 1970s. In 1980, a competing league, the World Hockey Association, which had formed during the NHL’s expansion years, collapsed and the four strongest teams were merged into the NHL.

The expansion teams spawned new dynasties and rivalries. The New York Rangers and New York Islanders competed fiercely to gain the hearts of New Yorkers. The Rangers had history, but the Islanders won the Stanley Cups from 1980-1983. Games involving the Montreal Canadiens and Quebec Nordiques became known as the Battle for Quebec. (See Exhibit 2 for a chronology chart and Exhibit 3 for team locations.)

The NHL in the 1990s The 1990s saw new excitement in the NHL and hockey. The San Jose Sharks entered the NHL in 1991, the Tampa Bay Lightning and

Ottawa Senators in 1992, and the Mighty Ducks, owned by Walt Disney Company, and the Florida Panthers, owned by Blockbuster Video Chief H. Marketing The National Hockey League Wayne Huizenga, in 1993. The expansion fees of $50 million per team were equally divided among the existing teams. These new teams, rather than selling hockey as a sport, positioned the experience as entertainment, specifically family entertainment. The Florida Panthers wanted their arena to "be a happening place, a place to see and be seen. We’ve got to get people here for all the wrong reasons, then turn them into hockey fans so they’ll come back for the right reasons," concluded their spokesperson. While traditional hockey purists cringed, these teams added cheerleaders, played contemporary music, and provided between-period entertainment.

Blockbuster Video outlets rented tapes that explained hockey’s rules and strategies for 50 cents, with the proceeds going to charity. The San Jose Sharks, with an attractive logo, recorded very high merchandising revenue. Since their inception in 1991, hockey’s San Jose Sharks have been a marketing phenomenon. Although they are a new club, they ranked fifth in arena merchandise sales last year, and their licensing sales were fourth best in the National Hockey League.

One reason the Sharks’ apparel sales have been high is that their logo is popular. . . . This is no longer a mom-and-pop business," explains Matt Levine, the Sharks’ executive vice president of marketing. "We’re in the entertainment and communication business, not just the sports business, so we're trying to tap into all resources that are available to us." The San Jose Sharks were not alone in their new approach. Table A describes the marketing thrust of

the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Not only did the 1990s bring new teams on the ice, they also brought a new management team to the NHL. "Gary Bettman moved across New York’s Fifth Avenue from the National Basketball Association to become NHL’s first Commissioner.

A long-time aide to NBA Commissioner David Stern, he is now hoping to inject some of the marketing savvy that drove the basketball league’s dramatic rise," said the Wall Street Journal.2 Gary Bettman characterized the game as a "misunderstood game. These are likable, good-looking athletes in a fast, hard-hitting sport. It’s just suffered from underexposure." To create the needed exposure, Bettman recruited seasoned sports marketing professionals, including Stephen Solomon from ABC Sports, Rick Dudley from Major League Baseball, Glenn Adamo from NBC, and Bernadette Mansur from Reebok.

The 1994 Playoffs Good fortune seemed to be smiling on the NHL. Sports Illustrated, a leading sports magazine, in its lead article June 20, 1994, titled "Why the NHL's Hot and the NBA's Not" stated: The NHL’s 1994 playoffs were the most exciting in many years. The Vancouver Canucks, down three games to one in their opening round, won three straight in overtime to advance. The San Jose Sharks surprised the favored Detroit Red Wings. In a battle for New York supremacy, the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers played an "epic " seven-game championship series which was decided in double overtime of the seventh game.